It must be a very old home if this sort of finish was used on a wood floor , it looks to me like reclaimed wood pieces ,its rather unique a good sanding will take care of it and a new coat of varnish will give it its rustic beauty back . Sometimes a little TLC does wonders. You have a nice project to tend to ,it will look nice when its done ,promise:)

I don't think it is that old. The fake nail fills and the use of short pieces indicate something more contemporary to me. I wonder if it is one of the original pre-finished wood plank floors from the 70's with a failing finish? I don't think it is solid wood. It might be able to be sanded but I can't think of anything else that would restore a nice finish to it since the finish is flaking off. Maybe put down a large area rug in the meantime?

Try a very fine steel wool and varsol (mineral spirits). It may be a wax finish that is flaking off. Even if it is the original finish the mineral spirits should help even it out.

Good call, Marilyn. I'd guess it's circa 1976-1982; maybe mfgr'd by Bruce.

I'd say you guys are spot on. I as well think late 70's. The floor feels mushy like laminate that is coming up. Sanding would be a no. Whatever was protecting the floor by the manufacture is completely gone. For now I am going to see if there is something I can apply with a mop just so it doesn't look so bad. I just cleaned them all today. I'm looking for a replacement now. now I'm going

Fake nails? They look like real ones to me , but I could be wrong . I guess if you think that this floor is ugly and beyond repairs then you must change it , your house your money . If it was mine I would give it a chance.

this does not look like fake wood, but rather like solid oak that has been plugged to cover nails or screws. i would do a little exploration like this: drill into the plugs of one of the small board off to one side to see how these planks are fastened to the floor. then remove the plank to see if it indeed is solid oak, which i believe it may well be. half a day worth of sanding will do a good job. you could re-finish with a floor urethane or oil it.

okay now im dying to know if these floors are real wood or not!!! some of you all are gonna have to eat crow lol!

I agree with the comments about giving the floor a chance, if these are solid wood I would be sad to see them torn up. You might have a Gorgeous floor there and just not know it.

It's red oak...I would have it refinished if possible. It has been severely neglected and abused but will come back beautifully with refinishing.

Guys it's completely fake! I just left my inlaws and they have one side of the house with this but not as old and the other side that is fairly new... Maybe late 80s or early 90s. The plugs are fake.

Maybe there's some real wood up under it lol!

I'd say its real wood but manufactured. You can tell how thin it is where it is not "connected" to the floor and feels mushy. I'm going to apply a general rejuvenate to the floor and see what happens.pics will come

WAIT, so it IS wood?? Are you trying to Jedi mind trick me?

Miss spoke. I have other convos about this. I meant it's made of wood like particle board. It's 100% manufactured. Sorry guys. Wishes this was real. I would most def. refinish.

I don't know.... but for some reason and the year of the house I don't think that they would have made MDF for flooring

MDF is been around since the 1980s according to this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-density_fibreboard

The veneer on that floor is not even plain sliced veneer. It is rotary cut veneer, peeled off a log. Plain sawn, flitch sawn, quarter sawn, or rift sawn grain is not like that.

I wouldn't even try to make these look good - they are completely done. Maybe some mop and glo ('cause you are disposing of these in a year anyway) will help it look less ugly...but don't spend more than $12 a gallon for anything.

Nothing will help. Cover with rugs and save some money to get a new floor. Even $100 worth of product will be $100 out the window.

Can cork floors. Does your name have anything to do with cork floors. I ask because the rest of the house has cork floors. These floors are in amazing shape but I can't stand the look.

Yes, Cancork Floor is the name of the company I work for. We specialize in cork flooring products. It sounds like you have the ubiquitous "cork" patterned cork floor. It probably looks like a cork board...but with a shiny finish on it. Which is not to the American taste.

To be sure, the cork floor in the rest of the house worth a small fortune. There are ways of refinishing old cork floors (I'm assuming the cork is glue down and not floating). Sanding and staining is always an excellent option. It takes away the "cork" look. Some people have managed to paint their cork...but that is a serious proposition that can go very wrong very quickly.

If the cork is a glue down floor, you can float another floor over top...'cause cork is one of the best underlayment options on the market. If you can leave them...you will maintain the value of the home. If you rip them out, you could lose a very valuable finish (some cork floors are worth more than $25,000).

Send photos and may be I can help with the "can't stand the look" thing going on.

I'll send photos once my internet guy is done here fixing our issue. Thanks for the info.

@Frankie: which options are you considering for the flaky floor, after all the suggestions?

Why not paint them

Hello guys, I am back online. This profile is my business but the post is personal. At this point I have a 3 year lease. I have thought of replacing the wood floors with travertine and in the mean time simply applying a "mop and glo" application. Painted floors??? first impression would be "unprofessional". I can order some travertine for the whole house and install myself but i am interested in how I can change the cork floors. This flooring takes up roughly 2100 sq ft in the house in about 3 rooms. The cork is maybe 800 sq ft. Thanks for all help. I don't want to sink in a lot of money in the house...

I sure would not spend real money making permanent changes (such as travertine tile) on a place I was renting. Check to see what the landlord will pay for. Does the finish dissolve in paint thinner? If so, you might overcoat with a floor finish that also dissolves in paint thinner. It will not look superb, but maybe okay. With a baby in the house, you'll need to be aware of ventilation and drying time, and read all those cautions on the labels, of course. Cork floors are great for kids.

Johnson & Johnson makes a liquid floor wax for wood floors that you spread with a lambs' wool applicator, IIRC. Mop N Glo is for non-wood floors. It may raise the grain of wood floors.

I'll look up the Johnson and Johnson

Hi Frankie, The cork floor you showed is what we call "Rocky Bush". It is a love/hate floor. It is very busy - too busy for me...but that is personal taste. It is a common "higher end" cork finish. The pattern is a veneer (cork veneer 0.5mm over granulated cork). Refinishing this floor is probably not an option...unless you want to owe the land lord a $3000 cork floor.

This floor looks to be a floating floor (long 1ft x 3ft planks in the photo). You can remove these (carefully) and relay another floor - so long as you reinstall the cork when you leave. Be aware that if you remove/relay the floor, you will lose 10% of boards due to slight damage to the click edges. That would need to be replaced = colour differences.

You can float another floor over top = need to protect the cork's finish from the floor sitting on top = expensive.

Large area rugs will work - but make sure they are not finished with rubber backing. Many types of carpet backings will stain hardwood/cork/laminate/vinyl/lino floors = you have to purchase a new floor for the land lord when you leave.

Or you could leave it/live with it for 3 years...knowing this pattern is not for you. Believe it or not...you will probably begin to ignore the floor once all your stuff is in place. As a rental, simply keep the floor well swept - damp mop with water.

HARDWOOD FLOOR CLEANER ONLY! The finish on the cork must be treated the same as a hardwood floor. NO mop&glo; NO Murphy's Oil; NO SOAP; NO household cleaner. NO WAX.

gotcha. area rugs it is!

I have this exact floor in an addition. It was not damaged as seen here but we sanded all the wood floors in the home including this flooring. It was a complete success.

Szabar, I am curious on your project. I have yet to do anything with the floors. I'd love to sand and refinish! Can you give me more info on what you did?

We sanded and restrained all the wood floors in the house to match as there were a few different types throughout the home, after previous additions. We treated this floor like all the other solid wood floors. sanded, stained and 3 coats of poly I believe. Came out great!

This response is so many years past. I hope someone can still benefit from my response.

I HAVE THIS FLOOR in my 1978-built house's kitchen. It's a Bruce Oak Plank hardwood floor. I have a love-hate relationship with this floor, but will never, ever get rid of it because it's so unique and beautiful. Anyone walking in to my house for the first time is wow'd by it. It's hardy too. Doesn't scratch easily & keep it swept-ed/vaccume'd up and it does not easily show dirt.

The bad, is that you can not use any store bought wood cleaners to clean it; they all contain water in their ingredients and water-based products will ruin the floor. The only thing you can use is a cleaning product by Bruce, where you literally strip & stain. Luckily dirt doesn't easily show, b/c I don't clean my floors enough. You can not buy this cleaner any longer but a contractor in my neighborhood took the can I had left over & researched, and was able to somehow duplicate a similar non-water-based cleaner. Was a very nice job.

Bruce makes a similar wood plank floor now, but there are no studs, which makes it so unique. Good luck to anyone who reads this. Mine is a definite keeper and worth the inconvenience.

slbruceix I have these floors in my home I just purchased in the living room and Kitchen. It was built in 1975. I have noticed if I get any water drip on the floor it leaves water marks, but they disappear when I put polish on it. I love the uniqueness of the floors along with many other original finishes in my home. I just wish I could find more of the flooring to do my hallway and dining room to match.